


Courage

by joshuaorrizonte



Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-02
Updated: 2019-08-02
Packaged: 2020-07-29 09:34:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,425
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20080009
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/joshuaorrizonte/pseuds/joshuaorrizonte
Summary: Asra's intuition is going nuts today. He just has a bad feeling. But when Muriel shows up at the hut, with a wolf and frantically telling Asra to run, Asra's courage will be tested.





	Courage

Asra paced the hut, thinking about what his day was going to entail. Normally he'd already be in the city, trying to sell fortunes, but he'd woken up with a terrible feeling in the pit of his stomach, like something awful was going to happen. He often had that feeling when Lucio approached him to do things he assumed were terrible- Asra's hands never actually got dirty, but he knew in his heart that Lucios didn't want poisons to help the palace staff get rid of rats. 

Well, if Lucio wanted him to do something for him, he was going to make him work for it. Make him come out to the hut, get his shoes dirty in the forest. Lucio _hated_ coming out there, and Asra was all about making Lucio uncomfortable. Asra could be a very spiteful person when he wanted to be, and when it came to Lucio, he _always_ wanted to be.

But as the day wore on, Asra started to question his intuition. Sometimes he woke up with a bad feeling just because, and not because of anything that was going to happen that day. If Lucio had a task for him, he could usually count on the man being at the hut first thing in the morning. It was the afternoon now. What was going on?

He was finally too restless to remain inside, and went to sit outside the door to get some fresh air. He was certain that he had been wrong now, and he was furious with himself for missing a day's work. They couldn't afford this! Muriel could hunt for their food, but he hated doing it and Asra hated asking him to. He considered asking Muriel to teach him how to hunt so Muriel didn't have to do it, but-

His thought was interrupted by the sound of heavy, pounding feet, followed by the quick pace of an animal. As he heard harsh breathing, he stood, tense. That sounded like Muriel, but why would he be running?

Muriel burst into the clearing the hut was built in and stared at Asra, then stooped with his hands on his knees, gasping with exertion. At his heels was a large wolf, thin, its fur matted. Asra looked from Muriel to the wolf and back, curiosity and concern warring in him. "Muriel?"

Muriel looked up. "You need to leave," Muriel said, his green eyes wide and frightened. "I- you- I ruined _everything, _Asra, he's going to come for you, you need to get out while you can, before he comes-"

"Muriel, slow down." Asra went to him, putting his hand on his arm. "I'm not going anywhere. Tell me what's happened."

He looked away, shame reflecting in his eyes. "I... I can't," he whispered. "I can't tell you. You'll hate me."

Asra shook his head, that sinking feeling in his stomach beginning to choke him. "I could never hate you," Asra whispered back, squeezing Muriel's arm. "I'm not going anywhere, no matter what happened. Tell me what's wrong."

"You _have to_ go, Asra." He took a deep breath, looking away. "Lucio... Lucio _makes_ me fight in the colleseum." Asra went still. He already knew where this was going. "If I don't, he says he'll hurt you. And I- I can't anymore. I _can't_. He put me against this wolf this time and she didn't even move towards me. I couldn't just fight an animal who isn't fighting back."

Asra muttered darkly under his breath, "That makes two of us."

"What?"

"He's hanging _your_ safety over my head, too," Asra said. 

Eyes wide, voice trembling, Muriel asked, "What... what does he make you do?"

"I... I don't want to talk about it." He took a deep breath, and looked up at Muriel with a smile. "I'm not going anywhere, Muriel. I'm not afraid of him."

Muriel looked like he was going to cry. "You should be afraid of _me_, Asra."

"Why? You're my best friend. You're my _only_ friend. I know you. Why would I be afraid of-"

"I've killed people!" Muriel sobbed covering his face with his hands. 

Asra stood very still, considering his words very carefully. "I know people die in the colleseum. I've tried to talk you out of fighting because of it, remember?"

Muriel shook his head, sitting heavily down on the log outside the hut, head in his hands. "You don't understand," he whispered. "They fight back. They all fight back. But the expectation is that I'm going to kill them. Their weapons are blunted. They can't hurt me. They can't win. I'm never in any real danger. These are executions, Asra." Asra muttered angrily, although it wasn't aimed at Muriel. Still, Muriel shrank away from him. "You see? I'm _dangerous_, and now Lucio's going to be after you, too. You can't stay here!"

"You're not dangerous," Asra replied evenly, his gaze dropping. "If you are, then so am I." He looked up again. "So let's be dangerous together. Let Lucio come after us. Let him send soldiers after us. We'll fight back, if that happens. But the fact is that he never intended to hurt either of us. I'm sure of it. He wouldn't be blackmailing us both if he did."

"That- that doesn't make any sense."

"Trust me, it does," Asra said, his tone dry. "I'm not going anywhere. I'm not going to be driven further from my home than I already have been. And I'm _not_ doing Lucio's dirty work anymore." He did his best to hide the fear in his voice and his eyes. He wasn't sure about this at all. But his instincts were telling him to stand his ground, and that was what he was going to do. "And I'm not afraid of you, Muriel. I could never be afraid of you. You did those things for _me_. How could I be afraid of that?"

Muriel relaxed, very slowly, as Asra talked. "I wish you would leave. I don't want him to hurt you."

"He's not going to hurt me." He said it as much to convince himself as to convince Muriel. He wanted the conversation over, however, and turned his attention to the wolf, still sitting at Muriel's feet. He knelt, offering a hand to the wolf. She whuffed softly, snout roaming his hand, and then gave it a soft lick. "She's gorgeous," he murmured. "I think you got us a pet wolf, Muriel."

Another soft whuff, this one sounding irritated. Muriel sat stark upright, his eyes wide. "What?"

Asra looked up at him. "What?" he repeated, baffled.

"She... she says she's not a pet."

"She _says?_" Asra looked down at her in wonder, and then called out, "Faust! Come here for a second!" Asra looked around expectantly, startling slightly when the purple serpent dropped out of a tree right in front of him. She climbed his knee and wrapped around his shoulders, red gaze on the wolf. "Can you talk to her?" Asra asked the snake, reaching up to scratch her lightly under the chin.

Faust tilted her head, and Asra heard her response in his head. _Familiar! Big friend familiar!_

"Muriel's- Muriel's familiar?"

Muriel's eyes went wide. "What, like Faust is to you?" 

_Yes!_ came Faust's enthusiastic reply, and Asra nodded. "That's what Faust says. How in the world..."

Muriel focused on the wolf for a moment, and the two of them stared at each other. "She says her name is Inanna," he said finally, softly. "She says that she didn't attack me because she felt a connection to me."

"That's- that's incredible." Asra reached out and smoothed his hand over Inanna's head. Inanna butted up against his hand playfully, then rested her snout on Muriel's knee, licking lightly. Asra's eyes widened in wonder as Muriel _smiled_, and scratched her behind the ears. 

After a moment, Muriel said softly, "She says she'll protect us if Lucio comes after us."

"Well, we're definitely staying now," Asra replied with a smile. "With such a powerful ally, how can we not? She looks like she hasn't eaten in days, though. Let me go inside and get something for her to eat. Are you hungry, Muriel?"

"No."

"Have you eaten today?"

Muriel looked away. "No."

"Then you're going to eat with us." Without waiting for Muriel to respond, he ducked back into the hut, and Muriel watched him go, his mind in turmoil. He didn't believe that Lucio would leave them alone- especially if, as Asra said, Asra was done doing horrible things for him, too. 

Inanna whuffed softly, and Muriel turned his attention to her. "Asra is a decent cook," he said softly. "You'll enjoy what he makes."

_Like him._

"I like him, too. A lot." Muriel sighed. "If something happens to him because of _me_, I- I don't know what I'll do."

_Keep safe._ Inanna sighed, nuzzling his leg. _Together._

"Yes. We'll handle things together." He looked down at her. "I'm... surprised you want anything to do with me. I'm a monster..."

_Not._ She licked him again. _Saved me. _

Muriel continued scratching her behind her ears, silent, pensive. He didn't know Lucio was threatening Asra too. Part of him was intensely curious about what Lucio _would_ do, losing both of them at the same time. The rest of him wanted to trust Asra and Inanna. Asra was powerful, and while he hadn't seen what Inanna could do yet, he got the sense that she could hold her own. "We'll get you fed and washed up," Muriel told her. "Thank you- thank you. For helping me."

_I did nothing._ The wolf looked up into his eyes, and they stared at each other for several seconds before Inanna put her head down again.

Shortly thereafter, Asra came out of the hut with three bowls. He handed one to Muriel and set the second on the ground. "I made eggs for us and used the last of the rabbit you caught yesterday for Inanna," Asra told him. Inanna settled down and started eating voraciously, and Muriel smiled a little bit to himself as he watched her and ate his eggs.

They ate in companionable silence, Muriel going over all of Asra's reassurances in his head. He still wanted Asra to leave, but if Asra was confident that they'd be alright, there wasn't much he could say about it. He knew he wasn't going to change Asra's mind; once Asra had decided something, he was incredibly stubborn about it. 

Their peace lasted until twilight. _Someone's coming_, Inanna said to Muriel, getting up and sniffing. Her mouth pulled back into a snarl and her fur stood on end. _Him_.

Muriel rose at that, saying warningly, "Inanna says Lucio is coming." Asra leapt to his feet, and Muriel could feel Asra gathering magic already, preparing to fight. But when Asra stepped in front of him, Muriel protested, "Asra! Get back!"

"No. He's not getting anywhere near you." Muriel was the only person in the world who knew him well enough to hear the way his voice shook ever so, so slightly. Muriel opened his mouth to argue, but his words died in his mouth as Lucio stepped into the clearing.

"You came alone?" Asra taunted. "I'm surprised. You usually bring a few soldiers when you bother me."

"I'm not looking for you," Lucio sneered back, his gaze settling on Muriel. "I see you've made friends with the wolf I expected you to kill this afternoon."

"You might not be looking for me," Asra interrupted, "but I'm the one you're going to deal with. We're done doing your bidding, Lucio. We know you've been blackmailing us both, and we're not going to take the bait anymore. Go away."

Lucio frowned. "I came because I was worried about him, you know."

Asra gave a short, sharp laugh. "You're not worried about anyone or anything but yourself. _Leave, _Lucio. I mean it. I will hurt you if you don't go away!"

"I don't believe you," Lucio sneered, advancing on him. Asra lifted his hands, magic gathering in his palms as he focused his anger and fear on Lucio. A shield flickered between them. Scowling, Lucio struck it, then gasped as the magic backfired on him. "You little brat!" Lucio growled. "You're lucky I hit it with my alchemical arm instead of the other one! I'd have _killed_ you if you actually hurt me!"

"I don't believe you," Asra taunted. "Go. Away. I'm being nice, Lucio! You know I'm perfectly capable of doing what I'm threatening to do!"

"You're not. If you were, you'd have done it by now."

"I have more than enough control over my magic to-" 

"I'm not doubting that. I'm doubting that you have the guts to actually try to hurt me." Lucio spread his hands in invitation. “Go on. I’ll even give this one to you for free!”

Asra shook his head, and this time the tremor in his voice was audible: “Go away! Just leave us alone!”

Lucio smirked. “Coward. You’ll both be back at my doorstep, begging me for my assistance again soon enough. You’ve only survived this long because of me. Hope for your sakes that you realize that before it’s too late.”

And then Muriel watched in amazed wonder as Lucio turned on his heel and stalked away. Asra held the shield until they couldn’t hear his footsteps anymore, and then dropped it, adrenaline making him shaky. “You did it,” Muriel said. “You really chased him off.”

"I really chased him off," Asra repeated dully, moving stiffly to sit next to Muriel again, his legs feeling like jelly. "I can't believe that worked."

"You know he's going to make your life hell now," Muriel murmured. 

"I know." Asra took a shaking breath. "As long as he stays away from you, I can handle it."

Muriel turned to him fully. "We'll face him together, if he comes back."

"Do you think he was right? Do we- do we need his help?"

"I- no. Maybe when we were children. We're not children anymore." He put a hand on Asra's shoulder. "He'll stay away from us now. I'm sure of it. But don't... don't let your guard down."

"You, too." Asra exhaled, steadying himself, and picked up his eggs again. "Inanna? Are you okay?"

Muriel focused on her for a moment. "She says she's alright. What about Faust?"

"Oh, Faust is fine." Asra managed a small smile. "We're okay, Muriel." He closed his eyes. "We're going to be okay." Maybe if he repeated it enough times...

... maybe he'd believe it.


End file.
